UTAH STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
January 24 2016 Vol. I • No. 2
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Utah Connection – Dennis Hogeboom – 1-877-7CEGLTD – dennishogeboom@cegltd.com
Parkway Construction Unearths Archeological Treasures By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
When work began to connect the Southern Parkway in southwest Utah, the staff with the Utah Department of Transportation knew the project came with its share of challenges and concerns. There were a number of threatened or endangered wildlife and plant species that would have to be protected, and the terrain changed significantly and often over a short distance. But nothing carried near the import as the knowledge that just below the surface lay archeological treasures that made this anything but the usual construction job. “We have found on this project the oldest known human habitation site in southwestern Utah,” said Dana Meier, project manager. “It’s a really interesting job. Work on the $175 million multisegmented project has been ongo-
ing for a decade, twice that time if you consider that the first feasibility study occurred in 1995. The environmental impact statement was completed in 2005 with work on the first segment getting underway in 2007. Part of the purpose of the project was to provide a bypass to route major truck traffic off local roads and also to facilitate tourist and recreational traffic from California and Las Vegas to the Zion National Park, Meier said. “What drove us really was when St. George City built a new regional airport,” he said. “This road connects St. George City to the airport. A lot of the drive behind it is economic development, particularly with the airport. It also is recreation driven and it provides a belt route around St. George City.” Workers went into the project prepared for important archeological finds. “We were real conscious of
As part of the project, the state created a native American cemetery, donating 15 acres to a local tribe so they can repatriate some of the remains found on the project.
that,” said Tracy Munson, field engineer. “We used specialized equipment. On most of the significant finds, we had an archeologist on site and they had a team surveying, watching the work. They were able to keep everybody well
informed and answer all the questions we had. We limited the areas we knew were extremely sensitive to one or two of the best operators so they could take care and time needed.” And, added Meier, they took
only six inches of soil at a time and very carefully removed the dirt layer by layer to minimize any damage to artifacts. One of the first significant finds came as workers were digging 12 by 400 ft. (3.65 by 122 m) trenches for a fault study. “Out of one of those trenches, eight feet below grade, was a spear point sticking outside of the trench,” Meier said. Perhaps the most significant find was a site documenting 1,000 years of continuous human habitation, from the Basketmaker era to the Pueblo Era. “The fire rings were still intact,” Meier said. “The floors were intact. It was a whole compound. We actually found human remains on the site. We had quite a bit of local press. Anything we find on projects, with exception of human remains, goes to Utah Museum of Natural History. We have requests from Chicago Museum of Natural see PARKWAY page 10
Gov. Herbert Asks to Reduce Road Construction Earmarks SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says that the state has handcuffed itself by automatically socking away a portion of public money for things like road projects. For the second year in a row, he’s asking lawmakers to consider chipping away at the increasing amount of earmarked dollars. The General Fund is expected to grow by about $180 million this year, but $77 million of the money will be automatically earmarked and added to a growing pool of state money, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. “It may be a very good place to put it, but there ought to be a discussion about it,” Herbert said, explaining that the account takes away flexibility regarding how the funds are spent. “We’re coming to a point where there’s a crossroads decision, because
if we don’t reduce some of the earmarks, we will have a difficult time funding education, particularly higher education.” He wants the legislature to take $10 million out of the earmarked funds this year and use it for early interventions for at-risk kids, like full-day kindergarten. Lawmakers rebuffed Herbert’s request to start reducing earmarks last year. Some, like Layton Republican Sen. Stuart Adams, say the earmarks gave the state a useful cushion to help keep the budget whole during the recession. About 85 percent of the earmarked funds go to transportation projects, and Adams said putting money into roads rather than new state programs will allow the state to slow or pause construction if the economy
goes south. Money spent on programs and salaries could mean shutting down the programs and laying people off, he said. “Transportation has been historically that accordion that we put money into and then take it out of when the budget either swings down or up,” said Adams, a former chairman of the Transportation Commission. “No one would say we shouldn’t earmark income tax money for education, and I’m not sure anyone would say you ought to throw all that on the table and let it compete against other needs,” he continued. “I just think earmarks have this bad connotation, like somehow it’s a pet project.” But not all lawmakers seem to agree. This year, at least one person appears likely to
help Herbert achieve his goal. Rep. Dan McCay, a Riverton Republican, is having legislation drafted that would do away with all non-transportation earmarks. That move would return about $90 million to the general fund but remove about $36 million saved for water projects, $8 million earmarked for anti-smoking campaigns and cancer research, $5 million dedicated to alcohol law enforcement and $18 million meant to help bring tourists to Utah. McCay says earmarking money eliminates regular review of whether it is being spent efficiently. For more information, visit www.sltrib.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)